Appetizers
Holiday favourites made with a healthy twist
Holiday gatherings are here, which means so are all the gorgeous-looking delicious appetizers!
It can be really easy to indulge in all the tasty goodies throughout the holidays, so challenge yourself to savour the holiday favourites you only get this time of year, and then try to mix in healthy, yet still tasty choices to round out your array of party nibbles. Choices that have some protein and fibre will help to fill you up, which will help limit overeating.
Sometimes simple substitutions can make traditional appetizers healthier. If you are making a cheeseball, try using light cream cheese and add spinach to increase the nutrients (it will also turn the cheeseball green for Christmas!) Top it with walnuts and PC frozen pomegranate arils.
Serve dips or salsas with wholewheat pita triangles, flatbread, naan, melba toast or whole grain crackers as delicious alternatives to chips and some snack crackers that can be salty and high in fat.
Always try to have vegetables available and, when possible, add them to appetizers. Try serving veggies with hummus, tzatziki yogurt dip, plain Greek yogurt with fresh herbs like dill with some lemon and pepper.
No-recipe-needed appetizers are sometimes the best! Try some of these this month when you’re short on time but want a healthier option available:
● Stuffed Dates: Medjool Dates + herbed goat cheese + fresh chopped basil, wrapped with prosciutto
● Cucumber slices + PC Greek yogurt French onion dip, topped with chives and sundried tomato
● PC Blue Menu lentil and bean bites served in whole-wheat mini pitas with hummus or tzatziki and tomatoes and spinach
● Smoked salmon bites – Pumpernickel bread + spreadable herbed goat cheese + smoked salmon
● Clementines dipped in dark chocolate
● Grinch Fruit Kabobs (green grape on bottom, slice of banana, then a strawberry topped with a mini marshmallow)
● PC Greek Yogurt (plain and/ or vanilla) topped with diced and spiced pears and pomegranate (add fresh lemon juice, dash of cinnamon and nutmeg)
If you are looking for some new ideas to try this holiday season that are not only healthier but also delicious, drop by my dietitian booth in-store to pick up some holiday recipes, or contact me for help with recipe inspiration. A few customer favourites include Dark Chocolate Avocado Truffles, Pear and Pomegranate Salsa, No Bake Gingerbread Bites (a spinoff of the traditional no bake energy bite), Mediterranean Asparagus and Tomato Salad and Guacamole with Pomegranate Arils.
If you want to impress your crowd with an upscale-looking appetizer on Christmas Eve or New Year’s, try the recipe below. The extra-long slices of smoked salmon can be rolled into elegant rosettes for an impressive finishing touch.
Have a nutrition question? Want to book an appointment or educational store tour for yourself or your community group or business? Contact me by phone at (902) 921-0700 or by email at courtney.masey2@loblaw.ca.